Palmeiras 1-0 XV de Piracicaba

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If last Wednesday’s clash with Santos featured two distinct phases, yesterday’s game against XV de Piracicaba was one, long session of offense against defence. Unfortunately, Oswaldo did not show us much new under the sun in terms of Palmeiras unlocking tight, defensive line-ups: only in the final 20 minutes did our men see the light, exploring the corners but not to cross but diagonally return the ball in search of that player who would take a shot from a distance. Gabriel Jesus, again smoking hot when allowed on in the second half, almost opened up the scorecard that way, caressing the post with his effort. Instead, it was defensive midfielder Gabriel who was graced in the 39th minute, securing another three points for Palmeiras. This was the Verdão‘s seventh victory in ten games and considering the recently good spell, I’d say odds are likely to be in our favour ahead of Sunday’s game against São Bernardo, even with Palmeiras the visitor. .

. Yesterday also saw offensive midfielder Ryder’s debut in our jersey, coming on for Cristaldo in the last 20 minutes. Ryder might turn into an interesting option for coach Oswaldo: a young and fast player with interesting technique. Before the 26.000 heads strong crowd, he looked at ease, much like Gabriel Jesus a couple of weeks back. These kids has got it in them, they just need that careful moulding.

For us palmeirenses, a working week without Palmeiras on the pitch due to the solid victory against Vitória da Conquista in the Brazil Cup, eliminating the need for a second leg. While we keep ourselves busy with other things than football, the squad will continue working those details, combinations, positions… Sooner or later, it’s going to mesh good.